Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Sri Lankan human rights lawyer now serving as UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, said in an interview with AFP published Sunday that UN officials are very concerned that a new form of warfare targeting civilian institutions and infrastructure exemplified in the Middle East conflict [JURIST news …

Israel has arrested a Hezbollah [US State Dept. backgrounder; BBC backgrounder] guerrilla who is believed to have taken part in the July 12 raid which captured two Israeli soldiers, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, the Israeli Army announced Sunday.The Hezbollah member was captured in Lebanon and his involvement in the raid, which escalated the conflict …

Hong Kong's Legislative Council passed a controversial surveillance law 32-0 Sunday, despite more than five days of deliberations and a vote boycott by 25 members of the pro-democracy opposition. The Interception of Communications and Surveillance Bill allows surveillance operations, including phone tapping and other measures, to be approved by judges appointed by Hong …

Chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said Sunday that Iran will continue to expand its uranium enrichment program despite the UN Security Council resolution setting an August 31 deadline for the country to halt nuclear activities. Larijani stated that "such resolutions won't have any impact on our behavior" and that Iran's expansion of its nuclear …

A military hearing for the five US Army soldiers now charged in connection with the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the murder of her family in Mahmudiya began Sunday with testimony by unidentified Iraqi witnesses. The Article 32 hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to …

US governors attending the annual meeting of the National Governors Association that got under way Saturday in Charleston, South Carolina, are opposing a bill in Congress that would allow the president to take over the National Guard without the consent of governors during emergencies. The House version of the National Defense Authorization …

A Bolivian constitutional convention championed by President Evo Morales was set to open Sunday with the goal of rewriting the country's constitution. Morales and his Movement Towards Socialism party have urged constitutional changes designed to benefit the majority indigenous Indian population and consolidate greater state authority to benefit …

Mexico leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to continue with street demonstrations after the Federal Electoral Tribunal on Saturday rejected his request for a full ballot-by-ballot recount of all votes cast in the July 2 presidential election, which Obrador lost by less than …